Overview

Chancellorsville 1863 is a two-player (or solitaire) wargame simulating the 1863 Civil War battle. Players command Union and Confederate armies in a chess match of hidden movement and tactics. The game centers around activating named formations using a limited hand of activation cards. Each formation has a cohesion track representing overall combat effectiveness. Victory is achieved by destroying enemy formations or controlling objective locations. The game features hidden movement maps, a momentum economy for purchasing tactics cards, and a unique activation system limiting when and how formations can act.

Components

• 1 Game board (battlefield with movement locations, hidden movement maps, formation areas)
• 2 Rule books
• 7 blue Union named formation markers (wooden blocks)
• 8 blue cubes (Union cohesion and general special ability tracking)
• 3 blue cubes (Union control markers)
• 15 Union Player Activation cards
• 15 Union BOT Activation cards (for solitaire)
• 12 Union Reinforcement cards
• 1 Union screen
• 5 red Confederate named formation markers
• 7 red cubes (Confederate cohesion and general special ability tracking)
• 15 Confederate Activation cards
• 15 Confederate BOT Activation cards (for solitaire)
• 12 Confederate Reinforcement cards
• 1 Confederate screen
• 36 Tactics cards
• 25 black Momentum cubes
• 12 brown Redoubt cubes
• 9 six-sided dice

Setup

1. Decide who plays Confederates and who plays Union.
2. Place a screen around each player’s Hidden Movement Map on the board.
3. Place colored markers on the start (14) of each formation’s cohesion track.
4. Place colored markers on the READY box of any generals in the formation area.
5. Place formation markers at starting locations. Formations with fixed starts go on the main board; formations with optional starting locations go on the Hidden Movement Map behind the player’s screen.
6. Shuffle the Tactics deck; place top 3 face-up on the tableau, remainder face-down.
7. Place Momentum cubes in the central pool on the board. Players start with none.
8. Place all redoubt cubes in a pool on the board.
9. Shuffle each side’s activation deck; deal 6 to each player. Each player chooses 3 for their hand, returns the other 3, then reshuffles the draw deck.
10. Place reinforcement decks on their respective board spaces (face-down, paired +3/-3 and +1/-1 for convenience).

Turn Structure

The Union player takes the first turn each round, followed by the Confederate player. Play continues for up to 15 rounds until all Activation cards have been played.

Each player’s turn consists of:

1. Play Activation Card from hand (choose 1 of 3) and gain Momentum cubes shown on the card.
2. Determine activation type: Major, minor, or free action (transfer reinforcements / build redoubt).
3. Pay Activation cost: Reduce cohesion by 1 for each activated formation (unless building redoubts, transferring reinforcements, or in a location with 3 redoubts doing nothing).
4. Resolve movement and combat if applicable.
5. Optionally purchase one Tactics card from the face-up tableau, then refresh the tableau.
6. Draw a new Activation card from the draw deck (or spend 5 Momentum cubes to search for a specific card).

Actions

Major Activation: Move the formation up to 2 locations. May end movement in an enemy-occupied location (triggering combat). If the formation moves only 1 location and attacks, it may attack the same location again or move to/attack a different adjacent location (effectively 2 attacks).

Minor Activation: Move the formation up to 1 location. May end in an enemy-occupied location for combat.

Transfer Reinforcements (no activation cost): An activated formation gives or receives 1 or 3 cohesion points to/from an adjacent friendly formation. Track using reinforcement cards placed face-down.

Build a Redoubt (no activation cost): Place a brown cube at the formation’s location (max 3 per location). A formation with 3 redoubts that does nothing pays no activation cost.

Countermand Order (General Ability, once per game): Instead of activating named formations, use Lee or Hooker to gain 3 Momentum cubes, replace all listed activations with 1 major and 1 minor activation anywhere (not same formation), and the major activation gets +2 dice in one attack.

General Jackson (Confederate, sequential): First ability: Move AP Hill up to 3 locations at any time during a turn (no cost, not into combat, in addition to normal activation). Second ability (different turn): AP Hill gets a major activation instead of a minor at no additional cost.

Combat: The attacker rolls dice (number shown on formation area). The defender does not roll. Results: double 1s or 2s = attacker loses 1 cohesion; 3 = gain 1 Momentum cube; double 4s or 5s = defender loses 1 cohesion; double 6s = defender loses 2 cohesion and must retreat. Terrain modifiers: green double-headed arrows give +2 dice. Defender may spend redoubt cubes to set die faces before the roll.

Re-rolls: Spend 3 Momentum cubes to re-roll any/all dice, OR reduce the active formation’s cohesion by 1 to re-roll.

Defender Retreat: Must move away from the attacker’s origin. Cannot retreat into enemy locations. Confederate formations retreat toward location 22; Union formations retreat away from location 22 and preferring north/over the river.

Tactics Cards: Purchased with Momentum cubes from the face-up tableau. Single use unless stated “Ongoing.” At end of turn, if no card is purchased, the rightmost card is discarded. Any 3 Tactics cards can be cashed in for 1 Momentum cube.

Momentum Cubes Bonus: Playing 3 consecutive activation cards with the same number of Momentum icons gives +2 bonus cubes (once per matching set).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Union Victory: Capture 2 of 3 objectives (locations 13 Fredericksburg, 18 Chancellorsville Junction, 22 Salem Church) by end of game. An objective is captured if a Union formation was the last to occupy it (marked with a blue cube). OR immediately win by breaking 3+ Confederate formations.

Confederate Victory: The Confederate player wins if the Union player does not achieve their victory conditions. OR immediately win by breaking 3+ Union formations.

Solitaire Victory: Union must hold all 3 objectives (not just 2) and/or destroy 3 Confederate formations. Confederate BOT must hold 2 objectives or destroy 3 Union formations. If the player’s side has 3 formations destroyed, they automatically lose.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Hidden Movement: Formations on the Hidden Movement Map are revealed when adjacent to an enemy unit on the main board, or when entering specially colored locations (red = deep Confederate lines, blue = deep Union lines). Red-hashed locations along the Union march route are tracked by JEB Stuart’s cavalry; the lead Union formation is visible.
• Cohesion Test: When cohesion drops to 5 or below, roll 1d6. If the result is higher than current cohesion, the formation is destroyed. Cannot re-roll a failed cohesion test.
• Stacking: Maximum 2 friendly formations per location (except during combat when 2 defenders and 1 attacker may temporarily share a location).
• Destroyed Formations: Permanently removed; cannot be reassembled. Activation cards for destroyed formations still earn Momentum cubes.
• Combat vs. 2 Defenders: Cohesion losses apply to ALL defending formations in the location.
• Simultaneous Destruction: If attacker and defender are both destroyed, the defender is considered destroyed first. If both must take cohesion tests, the defender tests first.
• Component Limits: 9 dice, 25 Momentum cubes, 12 redoubt cubes, 12 reinforcements per side are hard limits.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
1	Play Activation card, gain Momentum cubes
2	Choose major/minor activation or free action
3	Pay cohesion cost (-1 per activated formation)
4	Move and resolve combat
5	Optionally buy 1 Tactics card; refresh tableau
6	Draw 1 Activation card

Combat Results (dice pairs): | Roll | Result | |—|—| | Double 1s | Attacker -1 Cohesion | | Double 2s | Attacker -1 Cohesion | | Each 3 | +1 Momentum cube | | Double 4s | Defender -1 Cohesion | | Double 5s | Defender -1 Cohesion | | Double 6s | Defender -2 Cohesion + retreat |